Joystick Sample for E-Prime 2.0.10.242+ [30012]

**This sample can only be used with E-Prime version 2.0.10.242 and beyond**

The E-Prime 2.0 Production Release included a lot of new features. One of the most important new features was the improvement of the Joystick Device. Now, the Joystick Device can be added and referenced with the same ease as the Mouse Device. Attached you will find a sample that demonstrates five different features of the improved joystick in E-Prime 2.0. Below you will find a description of each part of the sample along with the joystick feature that it represents. Please keep in mind that while all of the parts of this sample are useful, not all of them will be relevant for your study. You may have to isolate only the portions of this sample that are useful for your particular experiment.

Menu

The menu of this experiment demonstrates a few very useful features of the Joystick. First and foremost it demonstrates how to use the HItTest method with the joystick. The HitTest method allows you to create clickable objects in E-Prime using the joystick cursor. The important thing to keep in mind with this sample is the DoHItTest InLine object. This object demonstrates how to gain access to the joystick's responses to determine which object is being selected by the user. This is also the area of the experiment in which you will see the most change between older joystick functions and newer ones.

This sample also demonstrates how to use the joystick to contingently branch your experiment. E-Prime will jump to whatever portion of the sample that you want depending on which SlideText sub-object is selected. The script for the contingent branching can also be found in the DoHitTest InLine object.

DirectionTask

The Direction Task demonstrates how to gain access to the position of the joystick's cursor on the screen and use that as a response. You will be asked to move the joystick up, down, left or right. Moving the joystick in the requested direction will result in a correct answer, while moving the joystick in any other direction will result in an incorrect answer. Pay particular attention to the ProcessJoystick InLine object in the experiment. This is what determines the direction of the joystick's movement.

Button Task

This is a simple true/false task. The purpose of this task is to demonstrate how to utilize different buttons on the joystick as input for the joystick. In this instance, it is demonstrating how to log either 1 or 2 as a response. The ProcessResponses InLine object in this task is only there to log data. This can be removed if desired.

Return to Center

The Return to Center task demonstrates a more complex way to use direction as a response. Not only is the participant required to move the joystick in a specific direction as a response but the response isn't complete until the user returns the joystick to the center of the screen. The important part of this sample is the ProcessJoystickReturn InLine object. This is the script that handles the accuracy of the joystick returning to the center of the screen.

Slider Task

The Slider Task demonstrates how to use the joystick's Slider (if applicable) as a response device. In this case, the slider is used to raise or lower the level of a thermometer. In the sample, this is controlled entirely with the AdjustThermometer InLine object. Please take note of the contents of this InLine object as the manner in which E-Prime accesses Joystick Slider data has changed as well. Now, instead of the Slider getting values of 1-10, the Slider gets values from -1 to 1.